Hero | Texas Hub Module

Texas Science Teacher Resource Hub

Free scope and sequences, TEKS breakdowns, phenomenon ideas, and engagement activities for the 2024 Texas science standards.

I'm Chris Kesler, a former award-winning Texas middle school science teacher. This is the site I wish I'd had in the classroom. One hub with TEKS breakdowns, scope and sequences, phenomenon starters, engagement ideas, and resources, all aligned to the standards you actually teach.

Get Free Pacing Guide

🚀 Jump to Your Grade

Pick your grade level and go straight to your TEKS standards, aligned resources, and teaching tools.

All standards updated for the 2024 TEKS revision

TEKS Details | Texas Hub Module

5th Grade TEKS Standards

Click any standard to see what it means, how to teach it, where students get stuck, and aligned resources.

TEKS S.5.6A • Matter & Properties

Compare & Contrast Matter

The Standard

"Compare and contrast matter based on measurable, testable, or observable physical properties, including mass, magnetism, relative density (sinking and floating using water as a reference point), physical state (solid, liquid, gas), volume, solubility in water, and the ability to conduct or insulate thermal energy and electric energy;"

💡 What This Standard Actually Means

The Key Verb

"Compare and contrast". Students aren't just naming properties. They're holding up two objects, testing the same property on both, and explaining how the results are alike or different. The standard's "including" list spells out exactly which properties show up on the test: mass, magnetism, relative density (sinking and floating in water), physical state (solid, liquid, gas), volume, solubility in water, and the ability to conduct or insulate thermal energy and electric energy. Each property gets its own quick test, like a balance for mass, a magnet for magnetism, a tub of water for density and solubility, and a circuit or warm spoon for conductivity. Kids should be able to look at any everyday object and predict how it behaves on each one of those tests.

Walk into any 5th-grade classroom and there's matter everywhere. The pencil on the desk, the water in the cup, the air in the room, the magnet on the whiteboard, the metal leg of the chair. Every one of those things has properties you can measure or observe, and those properties are how scientists tell one kind of matter apart from another. The job of this standard is to teach kids that you don't classify matter by guessing. You classify it by testing.

The TEKS list is the recipe. Mass is how much stuff is in an object, measured on a balance. Magnetism is whether a magnet attracts the object. Relative density is whether the object sinks or floats in water. Physical state is whether it's a solid, liquid, or gas at room temperature. Volume is how much space it takes up, measured with a ruler or a graduated cylinder. Solubility in water is whether it dissolves when you stir it in. Conducting or insulating thermal and electric energy is whether heat or electricity moves through it easily.

By the end of the unit, kids should be able to pick up any object, predict how it'll behave on each of those tests, and use the results to compare it to a different object. They should know that two objects can share some properties (both metal, both solid) but be different on others (one floats, one sinks). That's the whole game.

💬 From Chris's Classroom

If I were teaching this standard, I'd skip the vocabulary list entirely. Kids can parrot the words back, but the second you drop a paperclip and a plastic spoon on their desks and say "compare them," they freeze. The move I'd lean on is walking them through every property as a station test. Set up a magnet station, a balance station, a sink-or-float station, a circuit station, a warm-water station, and so on. Each kid carries a recording sheet from station to station, testing the same five mystery objects every time. By the end, they have a chart of properties for each object and the comparing happens naturally because the data is already on the page. Don't lecture this one. Let the testing do the teaching.

⚠️ Misconceptions Your Students May Have

These are some of the most common misconceptions. Knowing what to look for can help you get ahead of them.

"All metals are magnetic"

✓

Only certain metals are magnetic. Iron, nickel, and steel will jump to a magnet. Aluminum cans, copper pennies, and gold rings will not. Kids see a shiny metal object and assume the magnet will stick. Set up a station with a soda can, a paperclip, a penny, and a steel washer and let them test it. Watching the magnet ignore the soda can is the moment the misconception dies.

"Heavy things sink and light things float"

✓

It's not about how heavy something is. It's about how heavy it is compared to the same amount of water. A giant cargo ship weighing thousands of tons floats. A tiny steel screw sinks. The ship floats because of its shape and the air inside it. The screw sinks because all of the steel is packed into a small space. That's relative density, and water is the reference point.

"If something dissolves, it disappears"

✓

Dissolving doesn't make matter disappear. The salt or sugar particles spread out evenly through the water until they're too small to see. The matter is still there. Taste the water and the salt is right there. Let the water evaporate and the salt comes back to the bottom of the dish. Solubility just means it broke apart into the water, not that it vanished.

"All metals conduct heat the same way"

✓

Different materials conduct thermal energy at different rates, and even some metals are way better at it than others. Stick a metal spoon, a wooden craft stick, and a plastic spoon in a cup of warm water and feel the tops after a minute. The metal spoon gets warm fast. The wood and plastic stay cool. That's why pots have wooden or plastic handles. Insulators slow heat down. Conductors let it move.

📓 Teaching Resources for 5.6A

These resources are aligned to this standard.

FREE

Compare & Contrast Matter — I Can Poster Pack

Print-ready classroom poster pack for TEKS 5.6A. Includes the verbatim Texas standard plus student-language "I Can" statements broken into daily learning goals. Landscape letter, ready to print and post on your wall.

📍 Best for: Daily learning-goal board • Print and post

Complete 5E Lesson

Compare & Contrast Matter Complete Science Lesson

The full unit for 5.6A: differentiated station labs, editable presentations, interactive notebooks (English + Spanish), student-choice projects, and assessments covering mass, magnetism, density, state, volume, solubility, and conductivity. Built on the 5E model.

⏱ Best for: Full unit coverage • Multiple class periods

Station Lab

Compare & Contrast Matter Station Lab

9-station hands-on lab where students rotate through testing real objects for the seven physical properties from the TEKS. Input stations (Explore It!, Watch It!, Read It!, Research It!) and output stations (Organize It!, Illustrate It!, Write It!, Assess It!). Print and digital. English and Spanish.

🔬 Best for: Core instruction • 1-2 class periods

Student Choice Projects

Compare & Contrast Matter Student Choice Projects

Choice board with nine project options plus a "design your own" pathway. Students demonstrate their understanding of physical properties through writing, building, illustrating, presenting, or digital formats.

🎓 Best for: Project-based assessment • 2-3 class periods

🌎 Phenomenon Ideas for 5.6A

Use these real-world phenomena to anchor your lesson. Show students the phenomenon first, let them wonder, then build toward Compare & Contrast Matter as the explanation.

🔎

Phenomenon 1

The Floating Orange

Drop a whole orange into a deep container of water. It bobs along the surface like a buoy. Now peel that same orange and drop it back in. It sinks straight to the bottom. The orange itself didn't get heavier. The peel weighs almost nothing. But the rough, air-pocketed peel changes the orange's relative density, and removing it changes whether the same fruit sinks or floats.

💬 Discussion Prompt

"How can the same orange float one minute and sink the next? What property changed when we took the peel off, and how would you test it on something else?"

🔎

Phenomenon 2

The Magnet That Picks Favorites

Lay out a tray of objects: a paperclip, an aluminum soda can, a copper penny, a steel washer, a plastic spoon, a rubber band, and a quarter. Run a strong magnet over the tray slowly. Some things leap up to the magnet. Others don't move at all, even though they look metal. The paperclip and washer come right up. The penny and the soda can sit there ignoring the magnet completely.

💬 Discussion Prompt

"All of these objects look like 'metal stuff,' but the magnet only picked some of them. What does that tell you about how to test a property like magnetism instead of just guessing from how something looks?"

🔎

Phenomenon 3

The Spoon Race

Set three spoons standing up in a mug of hot water: a metal spoon, a plastic spoon, and a wooden spoon. Stick a small dab of butter on the very top of each handle. Watch what happens over the next two or three minutes. The butter on the metal spoon slides down first. The plastic one's butter stays put. The wooden one's butter doesn't move at all. Same water, same heat, three very different results.

💬 Discussion Prompt

"Why did one spoon's butter melt before the others? Which materials are conductors and which are insulators of thermal energy, and how could you use that information to choose the safest material for a soup ladle?"

💡 Free Engagement Ideas for 5.6A

Mystery Object Property Stations

Set up seven property stations around the room: mass (balance), magnetism (magnet), relative density (tub of water), physical state (room-temp display of solid/liquid/gas), volume (ruler or graduated cylinder), solubility (cup of water), and conductivity (simple circuit and a cup of warm water). Each group carries five mystery objects through every station, recording the property results in a chart. At the end, they pick two objects and write a "compare and contrast" paragraph using their data.

Materials: Balance, magnet, tub of water, ruler, graduated cylinder, simple battery + bulb circuit, warm water in cups, mystery objects (paperclip, penny, plastic spoon, rubber eraser, sugar cube, wood block, aluminum foil), recording sheets

Property Sorting Card Game

Print 15-20 picture cards of everyday objects (keys, ice cube, balloon, soda can, sponge, granite rock, etc.). Students sort the cards into bins labeled with each property: floats vs. sinks, magnetic vs. not magnetic, conductor vs. insulator, dissolves vs. doesn't dissolve. Same card might land in multiple bins depending on which property is being tested. Great five-minute warm-up the day after the station lab.

Materials: Picture cards, labeled bins or paper trays

Two Objects, One Recording Sheet

Hand each pair of students two objects (like a paperclip and a plastic spoon) and a single page with all seven properties listed down the left side and two columns on the right. They test each property on both objects and check off the result. Then they write three "alike" statements and three "different" statements at the bottom. Quick, focused, and forces them to use all the property words.

Materials: Paired objects (paperclip + plastic spoon, penny + rubber eraser, etc.), recording sheet, balance, magnet, water tub, circuit setup

Build-a-Boat Density Challenge

Give every group one square of aluminum foil and a pile of pennies. The challenge: shape the foil into a boat that floats and holds the most pennies before it sinks. The same flat foil sinks if it's crumpled into a ball. The boat-shaped foil floats and holds 30+ pennies. Connects relative density to shape and water volume in a way kids never forget.

Materials: Aluminum foil squares (6x6 inches), pennies, deep container of water, paper towels

Pacing Guides | Texas Hub Module

Free Planning Tools

Year-at-a-Glance Pacing Guides

Practical, week-by-week scope and sequences for grades 4-8. These tell you what to teach and when to teach it. Updated for the 2024 TEKS.

4^th

Grade Science

PDF

Download Free

5^th

Grade Science

PDF

Download Free

6^th

Grade Science

PDF

Download Free

7^th

Grade Science

PDF

Download Free

8^th

Grade Science

PDF

Download Free

Free download. No email required. Updated for the 2024 TEKS with linked activities for every unit.

Trusted Across Texas | Texas Hub Module

Texas Teacher Community

Trusted Across Texas

From the Rio Grande Valley to the Panhandle, Texas science teachers are using Kesler Science to save time and engage students.

Texas Schools and Districts
Love Kesler Science

What Teachers Are Saying

Sandra G.

via email

"Complete, concise, time saving treasure chest of ready-made lessons that fit my standards. Cuts my prep time, increases student engagement, and makes it easier to have a student-led classroom."

Stacy D.

via email

"It is easy to access, updated frequently, well-supported when I have questions, and everything I need is provided. No surprises."

Debra A.

via email

"Kesler has helped me differentiate instruction for students, move toward more inquiry-based labs, and kept me from losing my mind!"

Admin Section | Texas Hub Module

For Administrators

Give Your Science Teachers Everything They Need

School and district licenses give your teachers access to every resource they need, including station labs, inquiry labs, anchoring phenomena, presentations, escape rooms, and much more. One purchase covers the grade levels you need.

✓ PO-friendly. We accept purchase orders
✓ Volume discounts for 10+ teachers
✓ Free PD session for departments of 5+
✓ Aligned to the 2024 TEKS standards

Request a Quote Schedule a Demo

See It in Action

Book a walkthrough and we'll show you how Kesler Science fits your campus.

Book Demo Call

No pressure, no hard sell

Rosemarie C.

via email

"My assistant principal stopped in my room and immediately noticed how the students were engrossed in their centers and how they moved seamlessly from center to center. Also the built-in modifications really impressed!"

Cassandra G.

via email

"It provides differentiated instruction for all types of learners, allowing them to become more engaged."

Margaret I.

via email

"I love it all!! I have become a facilitator in my class and I love the excitement it brings to my class. The kids love all that we do with the Kesler products."

Texas Science Teacher Resource Hub

🚀 Jump to Your Grade

5th Grade TEKS Standards

Compare & Contrast Matter

💡 What This Standard Actually Means

⚠️ Misconceptions Your Students May Have

📓 Teaching Resources for 5.6A

🌎 Phenomenon Ideas for 5.6A

The Floating Orange

The Magnet That Picks Favorites

The Spoon Race

💡 Free Engagement Ideas for 5.6A

Mystery Object Property Stations

Property Sorting Card Game

Two Objects, One Recording Sheet

Build-a-Boat Density Challenge

Year-at-a-Glance Pacing Guides

Trusted Across Texas

Texas Schools and DistrictsLove Kesler Science

What Teachers Are Saying

Give Your Science Teachers Everything They Need

See It in Action

Texas Schools and Districts
Love Kesler Science